Have Faith In Me
by borderfame-sabrestar
Summary: Soul worries far too much about Maka, even if he doesn't show it. One shot, hospital scene.


****Heyyyy kiddos. I like Soul Eater. Short and sweet and silly, song lyrics taken from Have Faith In Me by a Day To Remember. Thanks for reading :)

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><p><strong>Have Faith In Me<strong>

Soul/Maka

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><p><em>Have faith in me cause there are things that I've seen I don't believe<em>

The grinning moon shone into the hospital room with a surprisingly soft glow, the light dancing on her pale skin and ash-blonde hair. She shifted, a small groan coming from the back of her throat as the anaesthetic failed to stop the pain for a moment. Her eyes shifted beneath her eyelids, moving back and forth and it was a gentle touch to her cheek which eased her movements.

Soul sighed as he pulled his hand back, used to the process now. He shifted his other arm which was in a sling. It felt awkward. He wanted to transform and slice through the bandages.

Stein had told him to stay put in his own bed until his fractured bones fixed themselves, but Maka's restlessness had kept him awake and he had moved to sit in the chair beside her bed, far enough away so he could still be cool, but close enough to help ease her pain.

_So cling to what you know and never let go_

Maka had been through a lot that night. Having to fight off the black blood, running full pace to the Kishin's prison and then, the worst, grasping a hold of the Kishin. That last part had totally drained her. It had taken all of her strength to hold onto her sanity getting that close, and it had nearly broken her when she touched it. Stein had told Soul that if he hadn't shielded Maka from that fall, she mightn't have survived.

To which Soul simply shrugged his shoulders. It was his job to protect Maka. This much was already clear to him. He was there for one reason and if he couldn't keep her safe, he wasn't fulfilling his duty.

_You should know things aren't always what they seem_

Soul sighed. He just didn't know what to do about Maka. She was so strong willed, strong minded, strong hearted, but she was physically weak. She always stretched herself too far and didn't realise how delicate and destructible she really was, and he needed her to trust that he could protect her. But as always, she never wanted Soul to get hurt, and she would put herself in harm's way.

This time he had been able to save her, even though she seemed determined to get herself killed. He couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face when he thought of her determined nature, her recklessness when it came to field work. She was insane.

And that was why she needed him. A reliable, strong weapon who would never let her get into danger, or at least help her to get out of it.

_I said I'd never let you go, and I never did_

Soul was so caught up in his thoughts he barely noticed Stein walking in, and he didn't know he was there when he reached out to gently touch Maka's cheek when her lip twitched and her eyes moved again beneath her eyelids, her lashes fluttering shakily. Soul felt the soft breath of her sigh on his arm and he watched her relax again.

"That's quite a gift you have there."

Soul spun to see the odd, stitched-up doctor standing behind him. Soul's eyes narrowed slightly, annoyed at having been watched. Being gentle and caring wasn't exactly the 'cool' image he wanted to achieve. That said, the doctor was freaking weird so it wasn't like it mattered anyway.

He was weird right now. He was simply looking at Maka, his eyes sort of glazed and far-away, as though he wasn't focused.

It took Soul a moment to realise that the doctor had spoken at all. "What?"

"Your ability to help calm her soul," said the doctor bluntly. "When she becomes distressed, having you close helps her soul to relax. It's rather – interesting."

_I said I'd never let you fall and I always meant it_

Soul didn't know how to respond so he simply shrugged and said, "She was twitching. It's annoying."

The doctor stared at him for a moment with a strange expression before he said, "I see. In any case, her soul is settled, less distressed. Her body will heal with time."

He didn't say goodbye before he left the room, and Soul turned back to face Maka, gently placing his uninjured hand on her forearm, just to feel the weak but steady pulse of her soul, to make sure she was alright.

_If you didn't have this chance then I never did_

As he walked out the door, Stein saw Spirit standing by the door. The red-head's face was unusually solemn, and he stared at his daughter with a sad sort of shimmer to his eyes.

Stein realised that this was one of those moments when he was required to express some sort of sympathy or reassurance to help his friend. "She's a meister, Spirit," Stein said, trying to console the scythe. "Her duty entails danger and this certainly isn't the first or last time she will be in hospital."

"I know," Spirit said. "But it wouldn't matter if she was a meister or a receptionist or a ballerina. No father wants to see their daughter in a hospital bed."

"I wouldn't know, I don't have a daughter."

Spirit glanced sideways at his former meister. "Thanks, Stein. Helpful as ever."

"I do what I can," said the doctor, nudging his glasses back up his nose as he began to wander off down the hall.

He turned back when Spirit called after him, "Hey, Stein? Does my presence help calm Maka's soul, too?"

The eager look in the scythe's eyes and his hopeful expression was too much for Stein to resist. He smiled nastily and said, "No. In fact, your presence causes Maka's soul to shrivel slightly."

"Nooo-_ooo_, Stein, don't say that, you're lying! You're a liar! _Steeiiiin_!"

Soul fell asleep to the sounds of Maka's stupid father ranting at the doctor and his loud footsteps chasing him down the hallway, and he dozed off with his hand still resting on Maka's skin.

_You'll always find me right there, again_

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><p>When Maka woke up, Soul heard the uneasy breathing and could feel her body shift, and he jumped awake before he realised what he was doing. When he saw her moving, he moved out of his chair, standing over her and he said, "Maka? Are you awake?"<p>

She blinked slowly, like her eyelids were too heavy, and she took a moment to focus. "Soul?" she whispered, her rasping voice unable to form words properly. She coughed, trying to prop herself upright. Soul reached out to push her back down to the pillows.

"Shh, Maka, it's okay," he said quietly. "Lie down, you're still hurt."

She took a few shaky breaths before looking back to Soul and seeing the bandages and sling around his arm. "Oh, Soul," she whispered. "You're hurt."

_I'm going crazy cause there are things in the streets I don't believe_

He felt frozen as her hand reached towards him and gently took his un-bandaged fingers, as though she was making sure he was real. Her skin felt warm and he could feel that pulse, the familiar brush of her soul against his, however it was so much weaker than he remembered.

Soul shook his head and managed a sharp-toothed grin. "Don't worry about me, Maka," he said, holding her hand gently. "I'm fine. Just a scratch."

"It wasn't my fault, was it?"

Her green eyes were so big and almost frightened that she had hurt him that Soul nearly spoke too quickly, but he kept his cool and replied casually, "Nah, I'm just clumsy when I transform back to human."

_So we'll pretend it's alright and stay in for the night_

He was quite sure she couldn't remember falling, or being caught by Soul when they landed in that pile of ruins and rubbish. He actually had worried that he'd broken something when they landed but the doctor had confirmed that it was just impact fractures, and he would be fine.

Maka seemed to relax when she heard this, but she asked, "Are you sure? I – I don't remember what happened. But – it's usually my fault…"

_Oh what a world, I'll keep you safe here with me_

Soul shook his head as he sat himself down on the edge of the mattress. "No. It wasn't your fault. We tried to take on the Kishin, do you remember?"

Maka blinked, staring at the ceiling for a moment before she closed her eyes. "I – I can't –"

Unsure silence followed her sentence and Soul could sense she was beginning to get scared. "It's alright," he said quickly, squeezing her hand. "You're safe now."

She hesitated, but a moment later she nodded and managed a tired smile. "Thank you, Soul," she said, before her eyes slipped shut again.

_I said I'd never let you go, and I never did_


End file.
